“He wears a mask, and his face grows to fit it”: Hegemonic Masculinity and the ignored male domestic violence victims

BRIEF DESCRIPTION

This exhibition examines the stigma around male victims, the trauma

of domestic violence towards males, and the means to recovery

afterwards. Domestic violence towards men is not often discussed and

in our culture today there is a barrier that prevents men seeking help.

Traditional ideas of masculinity that are socially constructed very

rarely allow for men to be exposed as victims. Feminism seeks for the

political, economical, cultural, personal and social equality of the

sexes, but there seems to be very little work around the social and

cultural equality of men (Feminism, 2016). This exhibition is

promoting for these rights for men to be able to seek. The project, to

be held in the Geffrye Museum, includes an installation piece within

the exhibition hall, a set of photographs and a display of poetry just

outside the hall. This project is collaboration with Men's Advice line,

Mankind Initiative and CALM. Poetry therapy workshops will be

held with male victims who are associated with the agencies

mentioned and the poems created in these workshops will be used in

the exhibition. Besides the poetry therapy with the victims and the

exhibition, there will be talks and poetry workshops held in the

Geffyre Museum while the exhibition is running.

AUDIENCE

Because the exhibition aims to alter society's preconceived ideas on

masculinity and the stigma around male domestic violence victims,

the exhibition is intended for both men and women over the age of

fifteen. Despite the absence of any graphic material in the artwork, it

is not appropriate for children under the age of fifteen to enter the

installation art piece of the exhibition. However, as the poetry display

is located outside of the exhibition hall is suitable for children. A

group in particular that I would anticipate attending the exhibition is

the male domestic violence victims who contributed to poetry

exhibited. Attending the exhibition and seeing their work being

displayed can help with the therapy process, and also allows the

victims to have a place to be surrounded by people who are

sympathetic to their situation. As there is no funding stream from the

government available for male victims, appropriate government

officials would be sent invitations to this exhibition in an attempt to

highlight how important these agencies are. 

Events and educational activities

Running alongside the exhibition, there would be scheduled talks and

poetry workshops. The talks seek to start a dialogue about issues

raised in the exhibition and to get people to think about what they

have learned from the exhibition. These lectures are aimed at people

who have already attended the exhibition however not exclusive to.

The poetry workshops are to be led by the individuals who have

contributed to the poetry in the exhibition and are intended to benefit

the victims who are leading the workshops as well as the people

attending the workshops.

As the exhibition is in collaboration with many agencies for male

domestic violence victims, it would be fitting to have talks from the

people who work at these organisations to discuss about what they do.

As the talks would not only be led by academics or artists, this could

attract a more diverse group of people to the talks.

If there were recovering victims who felt confident and comfortable

enough to participate in one of these talks I believe that it would be

very powerful. For the audience to hear firsthand the victims accounts

would allow for a more direct emotional response. But considering

the sensitive nature of the situation, this would be at the individual’s

decision, but perhaps it could be an empowering experience for them

in the recovery process. 

If at all possible, one of these talks may include a therapist discussing

the value of poetry and art in therapy after trauma. The collaboration

between art and medicine is very interesting and fruitful; studies have

shown that the creation of poetry is an intensely healing process. 

Besides the talks and discussions, poetry therapy workshops for adults

would run also at the Geffrye Museum. The workshops would be

open to not only adults who have suffered domestic violence but

endured trauma and perhaps this form of therapy would appeal to

them. The idea is that the workshops allow adults to address their

emotions and feelings and not feel ashamed to do so, and doing it in a

creative way is exciting and enjoyable. No previous experience of

writing poetry would be needed. Led by couples or small groups of

the contributors to the exhibition these workshops are to run for the

six weeks. A writing club currently runs at the Geffrye Museum and if

the poetry therapy workshop is successful it could run in association

with these writing workshops. The poetry created in these workshops

would be collected and added to an online archive, with the

hardcopies being kept by the individuals.

LOCATION  

The location of the proposed exhibition is the Geffyre Museum in

Shoreditch, London. The museum explores the home and reflects the

changes of society and culture through its room displays. In addition

to its period rooms, modern rooms and gardens, it also has an

exhibition hall and set of rooms for seminars and workshops. 

The Geffyre Museum is an ideal choice for this particular exhibition

for two reasons. Firstly, the content of the exhibition is domestic

violence which has a home setting. Also, this project is challenging

the idea of hegemonic masculinity present in contemporary society.

This exhibition is reflecting the need for change in our society and

culture, and this is what the museum exhibits. Secondly, the museum

has rooms for workshops in addition to the exhibition space so the

talks and workshops would not have to be held in another space.

The Geffyre Museum has been described as "an oasis in the heart of

the city" and through the exhibition, male domestic violence victims

have been given the chance to recover, respite and grow from their

experience and therapy, so it is poetically apt for the exhibition to be

held in this museum. 

EXHIBITION CONTENT

The exhibition content consists of:

1) an installation piece

2) a collection of poems

3) a set of portrait photographs

The installation piece is a constructed room and located in the

exhibition hall. The room installation piece is made up of many

everyday objects and added special effects to create the ambiances of

the piece. Objects that will be included are: a sofa, an armchair,

cushions, a television set, a coffee table, a side table, a rug, books,

pictures in picture frames, paintings hanging on the wall, curtains

against a false windows.  These objects are to be bought second hand

(used objects not brand new).

Such effects include heaters, dimmer lights, speakers for voice

recordings to be played, and a projector for the poetry. The voice

recording is of victims reading their poems aloud, played from

speakers placed around the room. The voice over has been recorded in

one of the workshops with the victims. The poetry is projected on the

floor. 

As it is a room, walls need to be erected and doors fitted for the

audience to enter and exit. The room will look as authentic as possible

to make the audience aware that these events happen in real life, not

in a constructed, separate space.

The poetry will be displayed on different sizes of paper, in different

frames. The text will be all in black, with a white background. Ideally,

fifteen to twenty poems will be displayed. The frames will be placed

on boards just outside of the exhibition space. The poetry display will

be designed with by a graphic designer.

The photographs will be printed at A3 size and framed with a plain

black edge. The 12 photos are in black and white to remind the

audience of the grey areas of domestic violence. The photographs

include portraits of victims, social workers, advocators within the

agencies collaborated with. This is used to convey the idea that any

man can be a victim. The artist Chantal Barlow has recently

completed a project on domestic violence victims in the US, as she

has worked with victims before, with beautiful results, it would be

ideal if she were to take the portraits for this exhibition. 

Leaflets and booklets with information about the agencies

collaborated with and the work that they do will be available to the

audience. Also, posters and leaflets with about the poetry therapy

workshops will be available. All literature designed by the graphic

designer. 

EXHIBITION LAYOUT

There is no specific order to the exhibition, it does not where the

audience starts, each medium is a standalone piece of art, but all carry

the same theme. As the poetry is located where the audience will

enter, this is naturally where the first thing they will see, but also the

final thing when leaving. The tone of the poetry is positive and

depicts recovery so it is an optimistic note to start and leave on. 

The poetry display is located outside the exhibition space on boards,

at shoulder height. The display is visible as soon as you come down

the stairs, as is the banner with the title of the exhibition printed on it.

The prints are all different sizes and have different frames, but with

the same font and colour scheme (black and white). The authors of the

poems come from different backgrounds, age groups, ethnicities and

there will no specific order to the display, just what is aesthetically

pleasing. Underneath each framed print of the poetry will be panel

revealing a little information on the author (it is as the authors' choice

if they want to be identified or not). 

When entering the exhibition hall, the first piece of art the audience

will encounter is the room installation. Outside the room there is a

text panel describing the piece and also a warning that explains that

the room will dim into darkness. When entering the room, it is

decorated as a typical modern living room would be. The walls are

painted with a warm red, the sofa has cushions, coffee table has

magazines upon it and the fireplace is adorned with pictures of

families. The curtains are pulled shut. The heater is on to make the

room warm and the speakers are playing noises of a fire

crackling. After a minute of being in the room, the heater is turned

off, the lit fire sounds begin to fade and the lights begin to dim. When

the room is dimmed almost completely, three poems are projected on

to the floor describing events of domestic violence. Now the speakers

are playing recordings of men reading the poetry aloud. A speaker is

placed beside each poem, and the audience is free to move around to

all three to read and listen to each poem. After 5 minutes, the

projections begin to fade, the voice recordings end and the room is

left in darkness. The audience now exit the room as an attendant

opens the exit door. 

After exiting the room, on the walls of the exhibition halls there are

photographic portraits of victims, social workers, advocators within

the agencies collaborated with. Again, the photographs will be

displayed at shoulder height, and in no particular order (victims will

not be grouped together, social workers not grouped together). The

twelve portraits will be placed six on one wall of the hall and six on

the other free wall of the hall (the other two walls are taken by the

room). 

At the exit/entrance on a table there will be leaflets and pamphlets on

the agencies collaborated with (Men's Advice line, Mankind Initiative

and CALM) and also about the poetry therapy workshops and talks.

OPENING PANEL

Home is thought of as a safe, comforting space and the man the head

of the household. But this is not always the case. The number of

women convicted of domestic violence towards a male partner in the

UK has quadrupled in the past ten years. This is revealing that homes

are not always a space of refuge or as male dominated as society

depicts. There is a cultural barrier today that prevents men from

seeking help. The media reports stories of domestic violence but they

are almost always female victims, male victims are not as widely

reported. As of now there is only one charity that receives funding

from the British Government for male victims. This institutional

sexism is hindering many men to seek help. 

This exhibition is collaboration between with the Men's Advice line,

Mankind Initiative and CALM, all agencies that strive to listen to men

who are suffering and offer help. Studies have shown that men's abuse

narratives are shaped by their gender. Males tend to avoid the word

"victim", minimize their injuries and are less likely to express fear in

their testimonials. Through poetry workshops, this project has given

male victims the space and time to narrate their experiences of

violence and recovery. 

The exhibition is comprimised of poems of recovery, an installation

art piece of a room to situate the violence that occurs in homes and

finally a display of portraits of the victims and people who have

helped them. Art activities are an empowering experience that helps

with self esteem, self empowerment and communication. The process

of writing poetry is a powerful means of therapy after trauma. 

Along with the exhibition, we will be hosting a series of talks from

people who work at our collaborating agencies, victims and therapists

discussing the value of poetry as therapy. There will also be poetry

therapy workshops running in the learning rooms in the museum that

invites the public to come and try poetry therapy for themselves. 

SUPPLEMENTARY PANELS  

1) Installation Piece titled - Behind Closed Doors

Warning: at the end of the piece the room fades to complete darkness,

but an attendant will guide you to the exit. 

Our ideas of home may be warm and comforting but it is not as such

for everyone. This piece contrasts the difference between a cosy,

secure home and one of a domestic violence victim. As the room

fades to black, in the darkness you see these victims reality at home,

what happens behind closed doors. Through the poetry projected you

feel how they feel. 

2) Poetry Display titled - Poetry Therapy

The poems displayed here have been written by male domestic abuse

victims in therapy. In more recent years therapists have begun to use

poetry as a MEANS of therapy because of its intense healing powers.

This creative expression is a form of catharsis.  

3) Portraits

Artist: Chantal Barlow

The twelve photographs displayed here are a mixture of portraits of

victims, social workers and charity workers.

VISION STATEMENT

The overall concept of this exhibition is to challenge society's

perception of masculinity within the home and to break down the

cultural barriers that prevent men from seeking help. Home is

constructed as a safe haven, an ideal and is associated with notions of

identity (Blunt, 2005). According to theorists this ideal of the home is

dangerous, as it does not apply to everyone (Varley, 2008). Within the

private sphere of the home, males tend to be positioned in the role of

the dominant male and the woman the submissive. The dominant

male role is a normative model of masculinity has been dubbed as

"hegemonic masculinity". Hegemonic masculinity is a pattern of

practices that has allowed male dominance over women to continue

(Connell, 2005). Despite most men not adhering or fulfilling this idea

of hegemonic masculinity, due to the media it is this model that is

what is of expected of men. The concept of hegemonic masculinity

has had an impact in criminology also. Information from studies show

that it is males that perpetrate more conventional crimes than females

(Connell, 2005). The heavy influence of the media in our society and

the institutional sexism within government agencies (justice system,

court system) creates a cultural block that prohibits men from

reaching out for help or receiving equal rights.  

There has been very little research focusing on male domestic

violence victims and their accounts of victimization only (Durfee,

2011). Due to the institutional sexism preventing men from receiving

the help they need and the social constructs of masculinity, only small

numbers of men are willing to report domestic violence as a crime.

According to Alesha Durfee it is one of America's most unreported

crimes (Durfee, 2011). She further argues that the hegemonic

masculinity perpetuates the practices that stigmatize women as

victims and men in the position of power. This affects men's abuse

narratives. Her studies have shown that men tended to minimize the

description of injuries and were less likely to admit to fear in their

testimonials. The victims claimed that they suffered but did not use

the word "victim"(Durfee, 2011).

Institutional sexism has affected funding for charities set up to help

men in intimate relationship abuse. Out of the three main agencies

that provide help and support for male victims of domestic abuse only

one, Men's Advice line, receives funding from the government. The

other two rely on public donations, grants and commissioning.

Considering the single biggest cause of death for males under the age

of 45 in the UK is suicide and the government is only funding one of

the charities that are trying to combat this is one of the major reasons

for embarking on this art exhibition (CALM 2016). This exhibition

aims to emphasize to the public the need for more funding and more

attention paid to these charities.

In addition to very little research being conducted on male domestic

violence victims but there is an even smaller body of art projects on

this topic. In the last few months of 2015, there were three major art

exhibitions about female domestic violence victims: "I am Woman, I

am Senka" held in Highcross, Leicester , "If these walls could talk"

held in Victoria University, Australia and an exhibition held in

Hounslow Library by Shanti Women's Aid. In addition to these I am

sure there were many other small exhibitions and projects focusing

around violence towards women. But in my research I came across no

major ones, and the only projects involving males were mainly

children or also included females. Not only is the violence towards

men in a domestic setting treated equally in the media or by the

police, it is not researched upon for academic purposes or engaged

with as topic for artistic projects. Artists and researchers need to

address this issue more and this project aspires to show a means of

addressing and interrogating this issue. 

As aforementioned, gender influences the narrative of abuse stories.

Male victims tend to underplay the extent of their injuries. In recent

years, collaboration between the arts and geography has increased.

Geographers have begun using artistic means to interrogate social

issues. According to Hester Parr, arts activities are able to make

empowering experiences of self understanding, self esteem and

communication possible (Parr, 2007). Because previous studies have

shown that narratives by males have been compromised because of

their gender, poetry writing allows them to articulate the trauma they

have experienced through a new form of expression. The poetry

therapy workshops to be conducted with the victims for this

exhibition allow them to write their experiences. Studies have shown

that poetry writing can be a deeply healing process in cases of trauma

and abuse (Bolton, 1999).  This creative process can be exciting and

pleasant, it increases self esteem and self respect (Bolton, 1999). This

form of artistic expression allows the male domestic violence victims

to explain through poetic language their emotions about the abuse. 

The collaboration with the victims and the charities that have helped

them allows for new insights into avoided social issues and produces

new means in how to address them. The charities in turn receive

publicity and reach a wider audience that may potentially lead to more

attention and funding. The process of the work and research is as

important as the finished project (the exhibition). 

STATEMENT OF AIMS  

1. To challenge the ideals of hegemonic masculinity in society

and educate the audience on the diversity of masculinity.

2. To advocate the power of poetry therapy as a means of

recovery for domestic abuse victims, especially in its power

to change abuse narratives. 

3. To highlight to the government the need for more funding for

charities that work with male victims and sufferers. 

4. To help more male domestic abuse victims by putting the

charities (Men's Advice line, Mankind Initiative and CALM)

into the public eye. 

Images

Image 1: possible layout for the room

Image 2: an example of the style of frames for the poetry

Image 3: an example of word projection

Diagram 1: basic floor plan

Bibliography

Blunt, A. (2005). Cultural geography: cultural geographies of home.

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Bolton, G. (1999). ‘Every poem breaks a silence that had to be

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Campaign Against Living Miserably, (2016). Home. [online]

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Connell, R. (2005). Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the

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Durfee, A. (2011). "I'm Not a Victim, She's an Abuser": Masculinity,

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pp.316-334.

Mensadviceline.org.uk, (2016). Men's Advice Line - support for male

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http://www.mensadviceline.org.uk/ [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016].

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Parr, H. (2007). Collaborative film-making as process, method and

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138.

Varley, A. (2008). A place like this? Stories of dementia, home, and

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pp.47-67.

Images

Image 1:Homepage.eircom.net, (2016). Coiscéim Student Village.

[online] Available at:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~pjolearyqs/house.htm [Accessed 14 Jan.

2016].

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Available at: https://enlightenedinburgh.wordpress.com/page/2/

[Accessed 14 Jan. 2016].

Image 3: Aliexpress.com, (2016). Buy Products Online from China

Wholesalers at Aliexpress.com. [online] Available at:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Fashion-Combination-Multi-Photo-

Frames-Hot-Sale-Different-Size-Personalized-Photo-Frame-Wall-

Decorations-Suit-Picture/32281058043.html [Accessed 14 Jan. 2016]